Restaurants and Institutions

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Terroir du Aéroport
November 19, 2007

Busy earth2table blogger Stu Stein finds a few delightful meals at airports.

Within the last month, I’ve been to Montreal, San Francisco and Seattle and have traveled through a half a dozen airports along the way. Mind you, this was business-related (mostly business-related, anyway). What I have noticed is if you want to experience and understand (at least superficially understand) the terroir of a city, visit its airport.

I see that skeptical, snide look on your face, but bear with me while I try to prove my point. Want a local microbrew in San Francisco or Seattle? Head over to Gordon Biersch at San Francisco International Airport, or the Seattle Tap Room at Sea-Tac International Airport. Want to taste the local juice in Seattle or Portland, Ore.? Visit the Cascades Lounge at Sea-Tac or the Rose City Wine Bar at Portland International Airport. Want a quick bite in Chicago? Stroll down to Gold Coast Dogs at Chicago O’Hare International Airport. And north of the border, take home a taste of Montreal from gourmet grab-and-go food shop Your Northwest at PDX or Boutique du Terroir at Montréal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport.

I saw and experienced more local flavor during layovers and before boarding my planes than in a number of the restaurants I visited in the actual cities. There are a ton of great, local, sustainable establishments in all of these areas, but it seems a bit ironic that one of the best ways to experience the taste of a place is on the way out of town.

And the journey continues.

Cheers!

Stu

Posted by Stu Stein on November 19, 2007 | Comments (0)